Holy Rule for February 14
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St. Mary's Monastery
Feb 13, 2026, 6:57:54 PM (7 days ago) Feb 13
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
February 14, June 15, October 15
Chapter 12: How the Morning Office Is to Be Said
The Morning Office on Sunday shall begin with Psalm 66 recited straight through without an antiphon. After that let Psalm 50 be said with "Alleluia," then Psalms 117 and 62, the Canticle of Blessing (Benedicite) and the Psalms of praise (Ps. 148-150); then a lesson from the Apocalypse to be recited by heart, the responsory, an Ambrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel book, the litany and so the end.
REFLECTION
Ever notice how a loving parent makes allowances so the kids WON'T slip up or be discouraged? Good teachers do the same thing. Some things are made so deliberately easy that all of the students can generally make it through the hoop!
St. Benedict does this with both morning Offices, beginning Vigils and Lauds with 2 psalms that are said every day. He even stresses that, at Lauds, the 66th Psalm is to be said slowly, so that the monastics may have time to gather.
Those two Offices are the time people are most likely to be running late, either because they had to bound out of bed at the last minute, or because the "necessities of nature" break between Vigils and Lauds delayed them unexpectedly. It is worth noting that only with these two Offices, when tardiness can so easily occur, does the Holy Rule make such allowance. For a further bit of trivia, these four Psalms are repeated every day: one could miss them several times in a week and still have said all 150 Psalms in that week.
Sometimes people (including, alas, ourselves!) can make unrealistic conditions and demand that others meet them. The concept of failure is built into those demands. We fence people about with our own standards that they could not possibly meet, and then condemn them for failing to meet them! What a sad and tragic game.
Take a self-inventory and check to see if there is anyone you dislike so intensely that they cannot be right, no matter what they do. If there are any such folks, it's time for you to change, not them! I recall, alas, one pastor who annoyed me so much that even when he used incense (something I ordinarily love,) I carped to myself that he didn't do it right. With me, he just could NOT win. Sigh... When things get that bad, it's ourselves who need the overhaul, not the presumed "offender."
St. Benedict, by his example, teaches us to be the exact opposite. He shows us that we should be gentle and loving, that we should not be about setting burdens on others that are guaranteed to make them fail or quit or be discouraged. If we have received such kindness, we should pass it on!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
February 14, June 15, October 15
Chapter 12: How the Morning Office Is to Be Said
The Morning Office on Sunday shall begin with Psalm 66 recited straight through without an antiphon. After that let Psalm 50 be said with "Alleluia," then Psalms 117 and 62, the Canticle of Blessing (Benedicite) and the Psalms of praise (Ps. 148-150); then a lesson from the Apocalypse to be recited by heart, the responsory, an Ambrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel book, the litany and so the end.
REFLECTION
Ever notice how a loving parent makes allowances so the kids WON'T slip up or be discouraged? Good teachers do the same thing. Some things are made so deliberately easy that all of the students can generally make it through the hoop!
St. Benedict does this with both morning Offices, beginning Vigils and Lauds with 2 psalms that are said every day. He even stresses that, at Lauds, the 66th Psalm is to be said slowly, so that the monastics may have time to gather.
Those two Offices are the time people are most likely to be running late, either because they had to bound out of bed at the last minute, or because the "necessities of nature" break between Vigils and Lauds delayed them unexpectedly. It is worth noting that only with these two Offices, when tardiness can so easily occur, does the Holy Rule make such allowance. For a further bit of trivia, these four Psalms are repeated every day: one could miss them several times in a week and still have said all 150 Psalms in that week.
Sometimes people (including, alas, ourselves!) can make unrealistic conditions and demand that others meet them. The concept of failure is built into those demands. We fence people about with our own standards that they could not possibly meet, and then condemn them for failing to meet them! What a sad and tragic game.
Take a self-inventory and check to see if there is anyone you dislike so intensely that they cannot be right, no matter what they do. If there are any such folks, it's time for you to change, not them! I recall, alas, one pastor who annoyed me so much that even when he used incense (something I ordinarily love,) I carped to myself that he didn't do it right. With me, he just could NOT win. Sigh... When things get that bad, it's ourselves who need the overhaul, not the presumed "offender."
St. Benedict, by his example, teaches us to be the exact opposite. He shows us that we should be gentle and loving, that we should not be about setting burdens on others that are guaranteed to make them fail or quit or be discouraged. If we have received such kindness, we should pass it on!
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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